Foothill singers are headed to the Big Apple

Feb. 18, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Foothill High School Madrigal Singers Brita Spargur, Rachel DeFontes and Lucy Patterson warm up before choir practice. Their group is scheduled to perform at Carnegie Hall in April. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Foothill High School Advanced Women's Ensemble rehearses on Thursday, Feb. 7. They are planning a trip to New York to sing at Carnegie Hall as a featured choir. The group is raising funds to pay for the trip. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Foothill High School Choir Director Chelsea Dehn directs her Madrigal Singers. The group is bound for Carnegie Hall. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Foothill High School Advanced Women's Ensemble rehearses on Thursday, Feb. 7. They are planning a trip to New York to sing at Carnegie Hall. The group is raising funds to pay for the trip. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Foothill High School senior Colin Boppell cues other singers as the Foothill High School Madrigal Singers rehearse Thursday, Feb. 7. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Foothill High School Madrigal Singers Brita Spargur, and Rachel DeFontes dance before choir practice. The Foothill High School Madrigal Singers are scheduled to perform at Carnegie Hall. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Foothill High School Madrigal Singers rehearse. They are planning a trip to New York to sing at Carnegie Hall as a featured choir. The group is raising funds to pay for the trip. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Foothill High School Chamber Choir rehearses on Thursday, Feb. 7. They are planning a trip to New York to sing at Carnegie Hall. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Foothill High School Madrigal Singers sing and dance on during a rehearsal. They are planning a trip to New York to sing at Carnegie Hall as a featured choir. The group is raising funds to pay for the trip. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Members of the Foothill High Madrigals choir sing during a remembrance service on Sept. 11, 2012 at Cedar Grove Park in Tustin. ROD VEAL, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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FILE PHOTO: The Foothill High School Advanced Treble Choir and Madrigal Singers, under the direction of Chelsea Dehn, competed in the prestigious Heritage Festival of Gold in New York. FILE PHOTO

Foothill High School Madrigal Singers Brita Spargur, Rachel DeFontes and Lucy Patterson warm up before choir practice. Their group is scheduled to perform at Carnegie Hall in April.JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The Foothill High School Madrigal Singers and Advanced Women's Choir will be performing in April at Carnegie Hall, on a stage that's hosted thousands of music giants, including: Sergei Rachmaninoff, George Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline and Liza Minnelli.

Students in the fourth period class were screaming and cheering, recalls sophomore Emily Phillips, 15.

"Not many high school students can say they performed at Carnegie," Phillips said.

First they had to convince the high school administration and District leaders. Then the hard part began – raising the $2,000 for each of the 63 invited students by March 1.

The program must raise funds to allow every child to make the trip, whether or not their parents can pay.

As of mid-February, the singers still needed to raise $18,000, said Foothill High and Hewes Middle School choir director Chelsea Dehn. The trip cost is $1,800 per person plus an estimated $200 for food.

"It was a big decision to forward knowing we need to get the money together," Dehn said.

Some of the funds will come from the choir program's annual fundraiser, a dinner show called Knights on the Radio, in which students perform pop hits. They're also holding an open mic night in March.

The trip is monumental for students.

"It's kind of like a dream because it's such a great performance venue. What an esteemed place it is. I feel really honored to be able to perform there," said Sarah Flanigan, 17. Flanigan also sang under Dehn's direction in the Hewes Middle School choir. "Once we found out we were all ecstatic."

In addition to their performance, the trip includes a Broadway show, a trip to see the Statue of Liberty and sightseeing.

They're been practicing for Carnegie, in addition to preparing for the Knights on the Radio (which ran Feb. 12 to 16) and for festivals and outside events.

Matthew Burt, 17, carries his pitch pipe with him and is always ready to sing. He recalls being shocked when he heard the trip had been approved.

"There's no way I'm going to Carnegie Hall," he remembers thinking. "It's an amazing place."

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